Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

I loved this book, it's beautifully written in a tight, almost bald style. The central characters are well drawn and sympathetically portrayed, with an excellent feel for time and place. Barker explores WWI through real characters and draws on some known accounts of their experiences; Sassoon, the 'war poet' is a central character, but it is Billy Prior, shell-shocked and distressed beyond words who affects us the most.

Barker explores themes of loss, manhood, war, comradeship and early psychiatry in a powerful, moving and ultimately rewarding novel of the highest order.